Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Has $2.08 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc decreased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,870 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 14,483 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 27,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on Duke Energy from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.62.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,140,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,992,694. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $100.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $94.31 and its 200-day moving average is $93.52. The company has a market capitalization of $75.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total transaction of $277,710.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,697.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.